<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>given the temperature you're running by wildmiracle</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27491332">given the temperature you're running</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/wildmiracle/pseuds/wildmiracle'>wildmiracle</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, haven't written a fic this fast in years, i LOVE giles, i LOVE willow, i do be simpin, i've only watched a season and a half of buffy and i'm already irrevocably changed, it is simply too much, this made me feel warm and loved</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 21:29:05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,996</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27491332</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/wildmiracle/pseuds/wildmiracle</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>giles finds willow fast asleep and sick in the library and takes her home with him. that's it, that's the tweet.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Rupert Giles &amp; Willow Rosenberg, Rupert Giles/Willow Rosenberg</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>given the temperature you're running</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was nights like these that Giles was sure he’d never attain one of those work-life balances everyone’s always talking about. As he pushed open the doors to the library, he looked at his watch. 1:34AM. Perfect. The school day would be starting six hours from now, giving him plenty of time to get some extra reading on metaphysics done before the first bell rang. </p>
<p>Suddenly, a soft sniffle came from the corner. Giles leapt a foot in the air, clutching his collar in a panic. What in God’s name could it possibly be this time? He flipped the lights on before edging his way deeper into the library’s depths, wishing he’d brought an extra stake with him. </p>
<p>Oh. </p>
<p>Willow sat at the table, fast asleep among the books. Giles battled the opposing urges of frowning disapprovingly or smiling fondly. Of course it was Willow. He’d left her in pretty much the same position, although on his last time seeing her she’d been far more conscious than she was now. He drew closer. </p>
<p>Her hair was sticking to her face. He frowned, and moved to fix it, before getting distracted with how hot and sweaty her brow was. She groaned in her sleep, almost nuzzling into the hand that sat at her forehead checking her temperature. </p>
<p>Giles quickly ran through the day. Yes, Willow has been quieter than normal, but these kids were so full of hormones that he’d learned to take their mood swings with a grain of salt. He poured back over their afternoon of research, cursing himself when he noticed the quiet coughs and balled up tissues that danced in the periphery. Bloody hell, he was thick. </p>
<p>“Willow?” he said softly, pushing her hair back from her sweaty cheeks. </p>
<p>“Mmmmm.” Her eyes fluttered open, not coming into focus for just a moment too long for Giles to be comfortable. </p>
<p>“Giles? What… what are you doing here?” her voice was croaky, and she made a valiant attempt to clear it but only succeeded in making Giles violently wish he had brought some warm tea with him. </p>
<p>“I could ask you the same question. What have I told you about staying in the library after 11?” His hands had moved from her forehead to her throat, as he felt for… something? Medical knowledge was the one thing he’d never really gotten around to.</p>
<p>“Sorry. I got distracted. I’ll just…go now.” Willow made to stand up, but made it all of half a knee bend before her legs gave out and Giles had to make a mad dive to keep her from slamming her head on the table. </p>
<p>“I don’t think you’ll find that to be happening.” Giles’s mind was going a million miles an hour. What was he supposed to do? Drive her home? Her parents hadn’t noticed she was gone, clearly, and she needed someone to keep an eye on her. </p>
<p>“Willow, aren’t your parents missing you?”</p>
<p>“They’re out of town this week. Work.” She had closed her eyes again, her head lolling to rest on her shoulder. </p>
<p>Bollocks. </p>
<p>“Well… would it… would it be alright… I think you had best stay with me.” Giles decided the name of the game would have to be confidence. He may not have any idea what he’s doing, but Willow didn’t need to know that. </p>
<p>“I…” she broke off to cough, a tight wheezing noise that made his own chest clench. “I couldn’t, I don’t want to put you out.”</p>
<p>“Willow, I insist.” Giles fought down the urge to pick her up and carry her to his car. “Let’s go. Do you have everything?”</p>
<p>She looked listlessly at him, a vague bashful look on her face. “I should stop by my locker. I think I need my inhaler.”</p>
<p>Giles felt his stomach drop out of him. </p>
<p>“Inhaler?” Internally, he catalogued every asthma trigger that they’d been around in the last 24 hours alone- simply the books sitting around her head were a hazard. </p>
<p>“It’s no big deal.”</p>
<p>Giles was quite sure it was actually a very big deal, but decided to save that matter until Willow felt better, or at least didn’t look like she was about to faint. </p>
<p>“Well, we’ll get it and we’ll go to my house. If you’re comfortable with that.” he threw in quickly, wondering if he was being too demanding. Willow let out a sneeze that doubled her over, and Giles decided he wasn’t being nearly demanding enough.</p>
<p>“God bless you. Come along Willow.”</p>
<p>Their drive home was quiet, passing mostly in sneezes and Giles saying “bless you”, it each time coming out more strangled. When they hit a light Giles removed his handkerchief from his breast pocket and placed it on Willow’s lap. He took it as a bad sign that she didn’t push back on this. </p>
<p>Normally Giles didn’t mind his car too terribly; it got the job done and him from place to place. Now, with Willow shaking like a leaf beside him, he prayed for a working heater. By the time they pulled into his driveway, Willow had nodded off yet again, her face resting against the window. The heat from her cheeks were fogging up the window around her, making it look like she had a halo. Giles turned the car off and sat for a moment, fighting the urge to let her sleep given the nighttime chill. Willow gave a pronounced shudder, and he decided enough was enough. </p>
<p>“Willow?” He reached out and gently took her shoulder. Willow’s eyes flew open, and she gasped, sending her into a coughing jag. Giles patted her back while he resisted the urge to hold the girl. </p>
<p>When the crackling noise emitting from her lungs had stopped, Willow looked over at him, her face red from exertion. </p>
<p>“Sorry.”</p>
<p>Giles decided that his first order of business after she was feeling better would be finding whoever had left her feeling the need to apologize for being ill. </p>
<p>“There’s nothing to be sorry for. Here, let’s get you to bed.” He let her walk by herself, albeit reluctantly, and led her into the large bedroom two doors to the right of the entrance way. Thank god he’d never gotten rid of the compulsive need to keep his room clean. He guided her to sit on the foot of the bed and turned to his dressers.</p>
<p>“Here are some clothes you can wear. You should keep warm.” He held out a pair of gray sweatpants and one of his older sweaters, carefully avoiding in his mind the alarm bells going off in his head. Was this unprofessional? Yes. But at the minute he didn’t really care. </p>
<p>Willow has accepted the clothing without question, looking up from the bed doing a thing with her eyes that made her look very young. </p>
<p>“I’m going to go make you some tea and see what medicine I have lying about. Go ahead and get changed and get into bed.”</p>
<p>“No!” The sudden sharpness in her tone startled him, and he immediately stopped in his tracks, turning to look at her. </p>
<p>“Is something wrong?”</p>
<p>“I can’t… I can’t sleep in your bed!” Her voice sounded like she’d swallowed a set of knives, something he couldn’t quite push to the back of his brain even as he considered this point. </p>
<p>“Well, I do understand it might be a tad strange, but given the temperature you’re running-“</p>
<p>“I really appreciate it! I do. I just… I don’t want you to be uncomfortable because of me.”</p>
<p>Giles very nearly laughed aloud. </p>
<p>“Willow, let me assure you that I would be far more uncomfortable letting you sleep on my couch given the current condition you’re in. And besides. My mother would have my head if she knew I made a guest sleep on a pull out sofa, especially,” he paused to allow Willow time to sneeze, taking a box of tissues from his nightstand and placing them in her lap, “if she was under the weather.”</p>
<p>Willow didn’t say anything more, simply began to shed her shoes and jacket, so Giles made his way to his kitchen, already dreading the lack of supplies he was going to find in his meager pantry. As the tea boiled, he put everything that could possibly be helpful out on the kitchen table. To her horrible hacking, which sounded just as painful a room over, he evaluated his loot. </p>
<p>A two year old pack of cough drops, generic. Enough Tylenol to kill a small animal. Honey, of which only a fourth of the bottle remained. He scoffed at himself. Given that his entire job was to protect the Slayer (and by extension, Willow and Xander), his medical supplies were only adequate if they were being used by a rock and roller treating a hangover the night after a concert. He resolved to go out first thing the next morning and pick up a battery of Dayquil and Nyquil, regardless of how expensive the miserable American healthcare system made it. </p>
<p>Tea with the remaining household honey in hand, he returned to his bedroom door. He stood quietly for a moment, listening. Nothing. </p>
<p>“Willow?” His voice sounded weedy and worried and he cursed himself for his incredible lack of ability to be cool in any situation. </p>
<p>“Yeah?” It was a croak, but it was confirmation of consciousness so Giles took it as a win. </p>
<p>“May I come in?”</p>
<p>“Sure thing.”</p>
<p>He slid inside to find Willow already tucked in amongst his covers. His sweater dwarfed her thin frame, and she has already rolled the sleeves up several times to let her hands have any chance at being useful. She was very pale, even more so than normal, with the exception of her cherry red nose and her pink cheeks. Giles felt so overwhelmed with affection for her that for a moment all he could do was stand there and watch her blow her nose. </p>
<p>“Are you sure this is alright?” Her voice was uncertain, almost as though she expected to be kicked out at any moment, and the ideas that brought to Giles’s head made him angry so he decided to push them away to be dealt with at a more convenient time. </p>
<p>“Willow, I swear this is more than alright. Are you feeling fevered still? I have some Tylenol in the kitchen, I just didn’t have the hands with the tea.” He gestured his head in the direction of the nightstand, which held said tea. </p>
<p>“Speaking of which, you should really drink that. It should help your throat, and maybe your chest if we’re lucky.”</p>
<p>Willow complied, wrapping her hands around the mug and taking a sip. She sighed contentedly. </p>
<p>“Giles, you always make the best tea.”</p>
<p>Giles felt himself go pink with pride and pleasure, and quickly went to go find more handkerchiefs to hide how happy he was about having his tea-brewing skills complimented. </p>
<p>He dug through his linen closet for a while, assessing the pros and cons of each type of blanket. Fluffy ones would keep her warm, but she could overheat. A sheet was really the best option, but she had been shivering so much and he resented the idea of withholding anything from her. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>When he came back, Willow was asleep. Her chest made soft crackling noises as she breathed, but she looked better than she had an hour ago when he’d found her asleep at the desk. Giles felt the tension in his shoulders unwind, just a little bit. He crept softly up to<br/>
the bed, laying the blanket he’d decided on over top of his covers. He stood for a moment, just watching her breathe. Only after she rolled over to curl up even tighter did her realize that he still had metaphysics reading to be done. The book was likely still in the library, never even touched. He looked at Willow again. </p>
<p>Worth it. </p>
<p>Giles placed a soft kiss to Willow’s temple and shut the door quietly.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>